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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

CONTRACT DATA REQUIREMENTS LIST (CDRL)

The Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) is usually contained in Part III, Section J of your contract. The CDRL is a register of the deliverable data items. Each data item has a discrete numeric identifier, a data item description (DID) number and a delivery schedule to the customer. The CDRL is commonly conveyed on DD Form 1423 by the Department of Defense (DOD) specifying the delivery address, number of copies required and the reviewing and approving authority for the data item within the government agency. The CDRL also specifies electronic addresses if electronic data delivery is necessary. Forms other than a DD Form 1423 may be used to convey data item requirements by agencies outside DOD. That form may be as simple as a listing of requirements. You should review the listing to insure adequate definition and understanding exist for you to commit to the data requirements when you sign your contract. Data Item Descriptions (DID's) are available at:

Although it is unusual to negotiate separate pricing for contract data, your negotiated contract and resulting budget baseline must contain the resources to prepare and submit these items. On contracts for new products, data item submissions represent major benchmarks on the contract schedule. Results of study, research, engineering design and development are submitted in the form of data items to the government for approval. Once approved, these items form the specifications for continuing effort on the contract. Key design reviews on development programs are focused on the contents of data item submissions.

In some instances, the number of data items and the level of detail in each are negotiable with the government. Such negotiations have a direct impact on cost even though data items are not normally priced separately in the contract. The cost for data item preparation and submission is usually included in the pricing in Section B of the contract within the prices for contract line item deliverable to which the data items apply.